The number of passengers carried by national flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) was up 19.4 percent annually from January to May, the airline said Friday.
According to a THY statement, Turkish Airlines carried 29.3 million passengers in the first five months this year, up from 24.6 million during the same period in 2017.
"The increase [on a yearly basis] in the number of passengers carried on domestic and international lines is 21.6 percent and 17.7 percent, respectively," it said.
The airline's passenger load factor or seat occupancy rate reached its historically highest level of 80.7 percent, up 4.7 percent for the same period.
In May, the airline carried 6.1 million passengers, an annual rise of 3.6 percent.
By the end of May, the number of aircraft increased from 327 to 338 in May 2017.
With 303 destinations in 120 countries, THY flies to more destinations than any other airline in the world. Last year, it served 68.6 million passengers, a 9.3 percent hike compared to the previous year and made TL 639 million ($142.08 million) in net profit.
Total sales revenue rose to TL 39.7 billion ($8.83 billion) last year, a 35 percent increase compared to 2016.
Moreover, the airline carried 16.7 million passengers in the first three months of this year.
Meanwhile, the leading London-based firm named the national flag carrier as Turkey's most valuable brand for 2018.
The airline topped the list of top 100 Turkish brands this year with a brand value of more than $2 billion, according to Brand Finance's survey.
Turkish Airlines raised its brand value by 6 percent this year compared to 2017, it said.